Pediatric dentistry is a branch of dentistry that specializes in the preventive and therapeutic dental and oral health of children from infancy to young adulthood. This also includes providing oral and dental health care to children with special needs, like children who have cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and many other diseases.
Who Performs Pediatric Dentistry:
Pediatric dentists and orthodontists are the people who provide oral health care to children from infancy to young adulthood. They have the required qualification, skills, and experience to provide dental care to children related to teeth, gums, and mouths from early childhood to young adulthood.
A pediatric dentist gets a dental degree with a specialty from a recognized dental school. It may be from three to four years of education and training. They limit their practice to treating children only. The word pediatrics means “healer of children.” It is derived from two Greek words: παῖς (pais “child”) and ἰατρός (iatros “doctor, healer”). Pediatric dentists and orthodontists are skilled professionals whose primary focus is to provide dental and oral health care to infants and children through their teen years, including those children with special health needs and care.
Orthodontists and dentists both fall in the pediatric dentistry group. They both help children improve their oral and dental health care, but in a slightly different manner. Dentistry is a specialty that deals with the problems related to the teeth, gum, and mouth while orthodontics is a specialty that comes under dentistry that focuses on malalignment of teeth, correcting bites, occlusion, and the straightness of teeth, dental implants, correction of smiles by aligning teeth and jaw and cosmetic dentistry.
Who is the Target Object of Pediatric Dentists?
The primary and sole targets of a pediatric dentist are children. Their primary focus is to treat children with dental and oral problems.
Is Pediatric Dentistry necessary?
It is often asked by parents that do my child needs to see a pediatric dentist? The answer to that question is that pediatric dentists are trained to handle and look after the dental problems of children since infancy to teenage years.
How to Choose a Pediatric Dentist?
- The most important thing to look while choosing a pediatric dentist for your child is how he deals with children. Whether the dentist is caring, gentle, kind, and patient enough to handle children or not, it is a tough job to treat children, but the dentist has to be patient enough to handle them with care and patience. Children often feel to be loved and cared for by their doctors and should think that they are in safe hands. If your child feels safe and comfortable in visiting a dentist, then this proves that the child develops full faith in him.
- It is a very tedious job to choose a pediatric dentist for your children. Always take advice from your pediatrician about the right pediatric dentists in the market. Keep at least 2-3 recommended dentists in your contact list. Try to have a good rapport and relationship with your kid’s dentist, this way your child will feel comfortable in his company and hand
- Always go by the recommendations. If you find a dentist that has a positive outlook and talks to you in a very supportive manner, then go for that dentist. This way, the parents build trust and confidence in that dentist and relieve them from stress. As a parent, you can consult him in times of emergencies.
- Do enquire about the qualification and experience of the dentist whom you are approaching for your children. It will be a good idea to visit the clinic or hospital to have first-hand information personally. The dentist may share some experiences to ease out and clear the doubts that you may have come across.
- Look for the infrastructure. Is the clinic child-friendly or not? The dental clinic should be appealing to children. They should love the place. This place can seem strange to a child. It should be well equipped with toys, children’s books, a play area, cartoon characters all around painted on the walls, and TV playing cartoon movies.
- Be a keen observer. Try to observe dental staff who are working in the clinic as children, and as a parent, you need to feel comfortable with all the team working there. Check if the staff are friendly and are easy to talk to. You should also observe how they deal with other patients and their parents present there. Do have a watchful eye as to how the team caters to your and your child’s needs.
- Assessment of the Dentist. You should assess your dentist how he deals with your kids, with you as a parent. A good and healthy relationship between parents, kid, and dentist has to be maintained in continuing dental health care programs. The main motto is that you have to feel comfortable with your dentist, and this will create a long-lasting relationship between you, your kid, and the dentist.
- Last but not least, always enquire about office hours. Though the dentist may prove to be the perfect choice for your kid his working hours may not be suitable for you and your kid. Always see that the dentist that you are choosing for your kid has a clinic that is easily accessible from your place and has flexible working hours that suits you. This way, you may reach his clinic without any difficulty, and your child does not have to wait for long hours and miss his valuable time. It is recommended to choose a pediatric dentist that specializes in the dental and oral needs of your children.
It is a good idea to visit a pediatric dentist who has excellent experience in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics and can help you in a more organized way. Children not only need dental and oral care, but at times, they need unique treatments that can exclusively be catered through trained orthodontists. Both the branches of pediatric dentistry and orthodontics are necessary and essential in dealing with the dental problems of your children.